He looked for her everywhere; even places that he knew were restricted to passengers. The consequences for entering any unauthorized area on a Siren Cruise Lines ship could be (were he to get caught) detrimental to his reputation and his career. But at that moment he didn't care. He had to find Daphne and he wouldn't rest until he did.
The thought occurred to him that there was absolutely no way he would forever find her, given the monstrous size of the ship. And then an even worse thought. His father had, in fact, eaten himself into a delusional state and had only imagined the confrontation with Daphne. But there was still that tiny piece of Niles' heart that made him want to find out for himself. And so he pressed on, looking everywhere possible. However, the longer he looked, the weaker his chances of finding her became.
As if by fate, he found himself on the promenade deck. There was no one around, which ironically suited him just fine. While he strolled around the deck, if nothing else he could enjoy the calming sounds of the ocean and the breeze on his face. However, as soon as he moved toward the railing he shivered.
So much for the warm ocean air.
And the fact that he was soaking wet wasn't helping at all. Instead it made the cool ocean air seem that much colder. He could only imagine what he must look like; a scrawny, lonely man drenched from head to toe, and within a few days he was certain to contract a terrible illness that would linger for months. At that moment he thanked the Gods above for the lack of company.
This cruise was vastly different than the one he'd taken with Maris all those years ago to the Caribbean. Back then they were still in love, or so he had thought. But now he wondered if she'd ever really loved him at all. But he refused to ponder the idea. Maris had managed to ruin his enjoyment of cruises forever. He wasn't expecting much when this voyage began but it was, without a doubt, the most disastrous one imaginable. Even more so than the ill-fated Titanic. At least those couples were in love.
The wind increased and he winced, suddenly reminded that he wasn't at all dry. The cold air stung and his hair was damp, bringing back more painful memories of the hell he'd endured in only a few days on this vacation. He used the term vacation loosely, for no one in their right mind would possibly-
He froze, unable to believe what he was seeing… or rather, whom he was seeing. Not ten feet in front of him, he could see the silhouette clearly and he wasn't entirely certain that he wasn't dreaming. But when the breeze lifted her hair, he caught the faintest whiff of a familiar scent. It was so subtle that he wasn't sure that it was real. But when he moved closer, the scent became more prominent.
And then she turned around, her face illuminated by the moonlight. At that moment his heart was beating so rapidly that dizziness washed over him him and he grabbed onto the deck railing to keep from, falling over the side into the cold ocean below.
It was a dream…. A wonderful dream from which he never wanted to wake up. But when he heard his name he knew it was real.
"Dr. Crane?"
His heart skipped a beat and he fell in love with her all over again. "Daphne…"